It’s a tough time to be a business owner, especially one that’s opinionated and fiercely independent. Take Cartel Coffee Lab. A barista raised the hackles of a guy on Yelp.com. He wanted coffee with caramel in it – they don’t have caramel. So he ordered a cappuccino, and the barista allegedly said “Just so you [...]
Posts from ‘December, 2009’
5 Things to Do in 48 Hours – San Diego Edition
There’s no shortage of stuff to do in Southern California. Any visit will keep you occupied. But there’s more to San Diego than a zoo and Sea World. I didn’t get too far off the beaten path on my recent visit, but I dug up a few fun things with a minimum of repetition from [...]
Mixing Coffee and Travel
I think it’s really fun to find quality microbrews while traveling. I get a chance to try something tasty, and I often get a chance to mingle with locals (in the case of my recent visit to the Lost Abbey/Port Brewing tasting room, I even met a friendly black cat). It’s also not super-hard to [...]
Get Through a Corner Faster!
Hey, it’s the pre-New Year’s edition of Mountain Bike Monday! That’s the weekly feature where I drop a great mountain biking tip on you, from gear reviews to technique tips.
To me, the real fun in mountain biking is in the turns. My absolute favorite sort of turn is slight bermed, slightly downhill and a medium [...]
Strangers in My Underwear – My Case Against Valet Parking
For the most part, I keep rants out of my blog. I like to keep it fun. But man, the proliferation of valet parking in my city is really getting to me.
Valet parking has its place. Like in big cities with labyrinthian parking schemes, draconian parking laws and crappy weather. Here in Phoenix, most places [...]
Checking out Marmot’s Mica Rain Jacket
Earlier this year, I was staying at New Zealand’s Skotel. The next day, Sarah and I would take a crack at the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, with a side trip up Mt. Ngauruhoe. Let me tell you, we were on edge with excitement. But we still had a day to kill, so we took a fairly [...]
Arizona Legislators Poised to Gut State Parks
Arizona banks pretty heavily on tourism to bring some dollars into its economy. So a bill aiming to knock $193 million from the state’s expenses really makes me scratch my head in wonder. And not in the good way. (Check out Jim Small’s blog for a good technical synopsis, a press release from the State [...]
6 Cheap Last-Minute Gifts for Mountain Bikers
Welcome to the Holiday Edition of Mountain Bike Monday! Today, I’m giving you 6 ideas for last-minute, affordable holiday gifts for the bikers in your life. Enjoy!
1. New Chain – Okay, so it’s not exciting. But a new chain every 1,000 miles is like an oil change f0r your car every 3,000 miles: cheap insurance. [...]
$7 Billion Giant The North Face Sues College Kid
There’s nothing like seeing a teenager with an idea and some can-do attitude trying to put himself through college by earning his money.
Obviously, though, The North Face disagrees with me. That’s why the company has unleashed the legal hounds on Jimmy Winkelmann, 18. He founded The South Butt as a parody of The North Face, [...]
10 Things I Hate About Yoga
I took my first yoga class nearly 11 years ago. I found a lot to like about it. I could feel my body snapping back into alignment. It even helped my concentration – at the time, I played a lot of hockey. After a yoga session, I’d strap on the goalie pads and the puck [...]
